The present invention relates to an automotive instrument panel apparatus and, more particularly, to the use of a small image display means mounted on a pivotable steering column. This arrangement provides a visual image of an automobile's operating status on a reflection surface located in front of the driver in such a manner that the driver can see the reflected image over the steering wheel.
Conventional automotive instrument panels provide the driver with operating status information in the form of dials and gauges which are arranged so that the typical operating driver views them through the steering wheel. The panel when viewed in this manner is partially obstructed by the steering wheel. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,033. Further, if the steering wheel or steering column is pivotable, the portion of the panel that is obstructed changes depending on the angle of the steering column because the position of the panel relative to the driver's eyes is fixed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,942 to Iino discloses an instrument panel cluster that is viewed through the steering wheel. An indicating device is mounted in the steering wheel column and displays information concerning the operating status of the vehicle. This display is reflected onto a reflecting display surface in the dashboard and from there through the steering wheel to the driver's field of view, thus enabling the driver to see the information through the steering wheel as a virtual image. This arrangement also includes a cylindrical magnifying lens installed in such a way that the reflecting display surface is within the focal length of the lens and the virtual image is formed further away from the driver's view point and is magnified, making the display easier to read.
Japanese application No. 64-15724 discloses a projection system mounted to the roof of a vehicle such that operating information may be displayed on a pad at the center of the steering wheel.
In Japanese application No. 62-261165 there is disclosed an instrument panel pivotably mounted on the steering column whose display is projected off the windshield over the steering wheel to the driver. Similarly, in Japanese application 59-182248 a display device mounted behind the steering wheel has an upper portion of its image reflected off a mirror onto the windshield and from there to the driver to create a heads-up display. The lower portion of the display image is viewed through the steering wheel.